Draconic Prince
by Mkay3223
Summary: A young boy is driven from his home by a horrible crime, he escapes his terror by crossing over to the human realm by accident. But what will happen when his true self starts to appear in front of his friends and the man he loves?
1. Lost

Title: Draconic Prince

Author: Mkay3223

Rating: M

Genre: AU and OOCness

Pairing(s): Seto and Jou (mentioned: Hikira and Yami, Honda and Otogi)

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer:I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do own any original character I use and the plot…which is not being used to make money. Yu-Gi-Oh created by Kazuki Takahashi

Summary: A young boy is driven from his home by a horrible crime, he escapes his terror by crossing over to the human realm by accident. But what will happen when his true self starts to appear in front of his friends and the man he loves?

~~~~~~time lapse

_Dreaming_  
"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
/**_mind link hikira_**/  
\mind link yami\  
**Setting**

_Run. _That's all he could think, the only thing his brain was telling him. _Run_. That somehow if he ran he would be safe, safe from the horrors that now haunted him. He could hear the footfalls of the other steadily growing louder as they ran after the boy. 'Oh god why are they doing this?' He couldn't help but think as he rounded another bend in the path. A sharp pain suddenly pierced the middle of his back causing the boy to stumble and fall face first on to the dirt path below him. He could feel his blood slowly starting to soak his shirt, the smell of iron filling his nose. Growling in pain the young boy reached behind him to remove the blade from his back, though he cried out when his bare skin touched the metal dagger. 'Damn them for using blessed metal.' Trying hard to ignore the feeling of the dagger singeing his flesh he swiftly removed the knife, wrapping it in his bloody t-shirt. Getting back on his feet he began to run again heading for the slow moving river he knew lied just up ahead. A sudden yowling hiss made a shiver run up his spine, he knew that sound he had been hearing it throughout the night. 'Their pets are tracking the scent of my blood…I better end this chase fast or it won't be long before they catch me.' Looking down to the bloody t-shirt in his hand, knowing he had to rid himself or be caught, he quickly tossed it into the bushes and sped up his pace. The sudden drop of the bank had the boy skidding to a halt, only to jump a second later as the hissing got louder.

The water was chilly its iciness stung as it lapped at the fresh wound on his back. He quickly looked around to find somewhere to hide, and he got lucky, to his left was a small cave only filled with a third of water. Swimming as silently as possible he slipped inside the cave unnoticed by his trackers. He was panting for air from his long run when he heard their footfalls stop at the edge of the bank, he could hear their pets sniffing looking for any trace of blood and heard them whine softly when none was found. His body was shaking but whether it was from fear, exhaustion, or the cold water he couldn't tell. He sunk lower making sure his wound was submerged and the blood undetectable. He unconsciously held a breath when he heard one of them start to speak.

"Where the hell did that little brat run off to? Kuro will slaughter us if he finds out we lost the boy." The tall man hissed to the others as they continued to look over the edge of the river bank.

"Calm down Akau, thanks to that dagger our pets can track the scent of his blood for miles." He patted the strange creature's head with an affectionate smile, as the others nodded in agreement with the statement.

"They can't track him if the blood stops flowing! That smart little bastard went this way on purpose. He must have known that this river was here and that we were tracking him by scent." Akau was seething at the stupidity of the men he was with.

"Come on do you really think that little runt could outsmart us? He's seven for god's sake!" The rest of them laughed at the thought of a seven year old outsmarting eleven grown men.

"I'm not saying he can outsmart us, I'm saying he knows the layout of this land better than we do! You know as well as me, Toku, that brother will kill us if we come back empty handed. Are you sure you searched the banks thoroughly?" Akau turned to his brother with fear and anger in his eyes only to see Taku thinking deeply.

"Yes there is no trace of his body." At his brother's silence he suggested another plan. "You know Akau…we could always lie. We could tell Kuro that he drowned and we couldn't find his body." Taku was grinning at his brilliant plan.

Akau walked over to his younger brother stopping so they were side by side. "What if the men rat us out?" He whispered quietly to him.

Taku's grin turned from brilliant to evil. "I guess we'll just have to eliminate that threat." He looked at his brother from the corner of his eye, to see a smirk slowly spread across his face.

Akau turned to his men with a disappointed look on his face. "Well gentleman it looks like the line ends here." They exchanged looks before one of them spoke up. "You know boss, he'll have to return one day we can get him then." Akau hung his head. "No…you miss understand me, it's true the boy's trail ends here but that wasn't what I was speaking of." He lifted his hand smiling so his fangs glistened in the moonlight. "I was talking about your lives" With those words he ran toward the group unsheathing his sword.

The young boy sat shivering in the small cave as he listened to the men either pleading with their leader not to kill them or whimpering in pain. The sound of the creatures' claws scraping on the rocks plus their yowling and hissing at wanting to join the fight made his hair stand on end. Suddenly the noises stopped…everything eerily quiet, that's when he heard it two pairs of footsteps and eight pairs of paws slowly making their way away from him. A sound of dripping brought his eyes back to the front of the cave. His eyes widened as he covered his mouth with his hand. Crimson drops of blood were slowly dripping into the chilly water form a pale lifeless hand hanging on a stick protruding from the bank. Trying to hold back the bile that threatened to rise up his throat he sunk back farther in the cave to a small hole in the rock that showed the bank above. Standing on the rocky ledge he peered to the surface to see the brothers walking away from the river their pets following obediently. Taking a deep breath the boy looked around for the other men, just in case one was still living and waiting for him to appear. Bile rose in his throat at the sight and he could no longer hold it back. They were mutilated, one body cut into pieces and spread about the area, another couldn't even be identified as a man. Assured that there were no others still alive he cautiously left the cave.

He started traveling downstream looking over his shoulder every so often searching for any sign of danger. 'I have to get out of here if I want to live…but there is nowhere I can go where they can't find me.' As he traveled further down the river he felt a tug at his body causing him to sink lower into the icy water. He tried to swim to the surface when he felt something wrap around his ankle. Looking down he saw a strange plant strung around his legs. 'What are these? I've never seen these plants in Akko before' He struggled against the plant causing the wound on his back to reopen when it hit the rocks on the riverbed. Finally freeing his legs from the retched plant he broke the surface gasping for breath, the pain in his back unbearable. Spotting a sandy stretch of land at the edge of the river he quickly made his way toward it.

The boy lay there half of his body submerged in water while the other half rested on land. The sand was quickly turning a deep red from the deep wound, the boy's nose wrinkling at the smell. 'Where am I? I don't remember this place…it doesn't smell like home. Am I going to die here?' All these questions went unanswered as he slipped into unconsciousness due to blood loss and exhaustion.

A couple was walking hand in hand enjoying their afternoon stroll through the Domino Forest when they stumbled upon a young boy covered in blood and seaweed.

**Domino Forest 1:30 Saturday**

It was a sunny but slightly chilly day in Domino, the leaves on the trees starting to turn from green into to a verity of colors. A young couple was taking an afternoon stroll through the forest enjoying the autumn air on their Saturday off from work. The young man was dressed in an old faded pair of light jeans and black sweatshirt that was a bit too small causing the fabric to cling to his body. Being in his early twenties he had a smooth pale face and short brunet hair. Dark onyx eyes looked to his wife lovingly as he squeezed her hand gently. Her bright blue eyes closed as she smiled back at him and swung their conjoined hands between them while resting the other on her bulging stomach. She was dressed similar to her husband, her jeans just as faded only in a darker color and a light grey sweatshirt the same style. Noticing her movements the man stopped walking causing her to stop in front of him.

"Are you alright Ren? Is the baby kicking? Are you in pain at all?" He asked franticly an expression of worry etched its way on to his face as he waited for her to answer.

Ren laughed lightly really Shun could act like a paranoid mother at times. "I'm fine honey really it's only a bit of kicking and no I'm not in pain. So you can stop acting like the sky is falling." When it looked like Shun was about to argue she cut him off. "Besides it's not the first time I've been pregnant either. You acted this way with Seto and everything went fine."

"I just wanted to make sure your ok Ren, and look you never know what's going to happen. Just because nothing happened the first time doesn't mean anything will happen this time." He placed a hand on top of her own, giving her a worried look. "I just love you so much and I don't want you to be in pain." Shun smiled at his wife leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

She giggled and laced their fingers together once again. "Come on Papa we have to get back to the car soon or we'll be late to pick Seto and Mokuba up from Nana's."

"What did they say again when I asked them why they wanted to go today?" Shun asked starting to walk again.

"They said Nana was going to help them make something special for us and their new sibling." Ren said with a slight laugh. "Seven and four year olds are such a mystery."

"Yes they are, I hope Seto doesn't give your mom too much trouble. After all Seto got pretty hyper last time he was there." Shun chuckled as he remembered the time he went to pick Seto up Nana's. When he opened the door there was Hersey's chocolate smeared all over the walls, he wondered how Seto got it on the ceiling. The couple continued to reminisce about the crazy things their sons did when Ren suddenly stopped. Confused Shun turned to his wife to see a horrified expression on her face. "Ren, honey, what is it?" Seeing that she was too shocked to respond Shun turned to look at what had caught his wife's gaze.

What Shun saw had his blood rapidly leaving his face and bile rising in his throat. A young boy was lying amongst a pool of bloodied sand, his blond hair tinted red where the blood sunk into golden tresses. They saw the nasty gash on the little boy's back that had thankfully stopped bleeding for now. Her motherly instincts kicking in Ren ran toward the boy, Shun fallowing her just as fast.

"Oh my god Shun we have to get him to the hospital!" She turned the young boy over checking for a pulse. Shun nodded picking the boy up and heading for the car his wife right behind him. Finally making to the car Shun laid the boy in the backseat, covering him up with his sweatshirt. He jumped into the driver's seat after making sure the boy was buckled and Ren was ok. He set off down the road driving as fast as the law would allow him.

"Who do you think he is Shun? I've never seen a boy with that color of hair around Domino." Ren asked looking over her shoulder at the unconscious boy.

"I don't know honey but I hope we can make it to the hospital on time, his pulse was weak when I checked it." Shun pressed the gas pedal down a bit harder hoping to make it to the hospital.

AN: So to those of you who recognize this as "Dragon Prince" your right. It's still my story I'm just rewriting it and making the chapters longer. This is my first fanfic so please be kind in your reviews. Constructive criticism is appreciated I would like to know how to better my writing.


	2. Alone

Title: Draconic Prince

Author: Mkay3223

Rating: NC-17

Genre: AU and OOCness

Pairing(s): Seto and Jou (mentioned: Hikira and Yami, Honda and Otogi)

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer:I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do own any original character I use and the plot…which is not being used to make money. Yu-Gi-Oh created by Kazuki Takahashi

Summary: A young boy is driven from his home by a horrible crime, he escapes his terror by crossing over to the human realm by accident. But what will happen when his true self starts to appear in front of his friends and the man he loves?

~~~~~~time lapse  
_Dreaming_  
"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
/_**mind link hikira**_/  
\mind link yami\  
**Setting**

**AN: **Thank you to those of you who reviewed chapter 1.

**O0O0O0O0O0O**

**Domino Hospital 4:30 pm Saturday **

The young boy awoke to the sound of a steady beeping and dripping. He slowly opened his dull hazel eyes though they were steadily getting brighter as his blood levels rose back to normal. Sandy blonde hair blocked the vision of his left eye, knowing he had bright golden hair he wanted to reach for the strange dull color only to realize he was too weak to do so. The young one began to look around trying to figure out where he was. The room was a familiar sterile white, which he recognized to be a hospital room. As if just noticing the beeping for the first time he turned to his right to see the heart monitor and IV stand. Knowing full well what the machine was and what it did the boy turned his attention to the IV stand. The two bags that hung from the tall skinny pole intrigued him, one more than the other. The bag on the left side of the stand was a half full of clear liquid, a saline drip it was called, remembering from a previous trip to the hospital. He looked to the other bag seeming transfixed by the liquid that lay inside the bag. The boy watched as the thick crimson liquid flowed smoothly down one of the tubes connecting to his right arm. His mouth went dry at the sight of the blood, it made his stomach churn and heave in memory of his family's blood staining the ground red. '_How could they do that to us_?' he asked himself.

The sound of the door knob turning slowly jolted him out of his memories. A short plump woman with kind green eyes entered the room, followed by a young family. The woman following the nurse was young and pregnant, her blue eyes seemed worried. The man next to her had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as if he was trying to comfort her, his dark grey eyes looked worried as well, in his other arm he was holding a small boy who had fallen asleep. When the young woman looked down, the boy noticed the couple's other son standing between them holding his mother's hand.

"Ah you're finally awake then dear? That's good, I was beginning to think you weren't going to be conscious today." The nurse suddenly spoke causing the boy to jump slightly.

The couple looked to him the worry slightly fading in their eyes. Their son gave a tug on his mother's hand looking to her confused. The RN walked to the end of his bed grabbing the chart.

"Oh dear no wonder you were asleep so long, after losing so much blood you shouldn't even be breathing. " She started to mutter to herself" Hair, Blonde. Eyes, Hazel. Blood type, B +." She turned to him."Now we took your height and weight when you came in so we just need two other things, your birth date and your name. " She looked to him kindly a smile spreading across her face.

The boy looked at her strangely, '_I don't have blonde hair or brown eyes. My eyes are red and my hair jet black so why had she…?_' He thought trailed off as he remembered the sandy color covering his eye. '_It changed but why_?' He looked at her awaiting face.

"My birthday is January 25, I'm seven, and my name is Ka-Joey." He decided to keep his real name and birth year a secret in case they worked for those evil men.

"And your last name?" She asked still smiling.

"It's…Wheeler." He stated calmly thinking the name up on the spot.

"Alright Joey," She scribbled down the new information on the chart "So young to be by one's self. Joey where are your parents, we need to get a hold of them."

He looked down sadly thinking of his family before muttering quietly. "I- my mom and dad they…they're not here anymore." Tears started to roll down his face.

The older woman looked to the young boy shocked, "Not here? What do you mean?"

Joey averted his eyes to the window." They died," He said simply ignoring the shocked gasp from the plump nurse.

"But then who takes care of you?" She asked worried.

Joey didn't look at her tears slid silently down his young face, he didn't answer. Taking the hint that he didn't wish to talk anymore she turned to the family who had taken up the chairs in the corner of the room. "You are the ones who brought him in correct?"

"Yes." The man stated quietly.

"What are your names? And how did you find young mister Wheeler?" The nurse asked politely.

"I'm Shun this is my wife Ren and our sons Seto and Mokuba." Shun said before looking to Joey. "Ren and I were taking a walk by the river like we normally do on our day off. We were starting to head back to our car when Ren noticed him lying by the river. We ran over, checked his vital signs and brought him here." He looked up to the nurse signaling his story was finished.

She nodded still scribbling the information down in the chart, before turning to take Joey's vitals. Joey looked to the young boy, 'Didn't the dad say their names were Seto and Mokuba?' he couldn't help but feel jealous of the boys. They just sat there on their parent's laps quietly, 'It's not fair! Why did mother and father have to die'?

"Well Joey you seem to be doing alright for the moment, why don't you order some dinner from the cafeteria." Joey nodded while the RN named some of the soups they were serving.

**Domino Hospital 9:32 pm Saturday**

The family was still in the small hospital room, they were having dinner with the young boy they helped. Mokuba was sleeping in the overstuffed arm chair, having finished his meal a while ago, while Seto sat playing with a plushie of a yellow lab. The young woman and her husband sat on Joey's right talking quietly with the boy.

"So your mother and father passed away? Who's been taking care of you?" Ren asked the same question the RN had. She placed her hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him.

"Well they died today actually, so I haven't been alone for long." Joey set the spoon down not very hungry for chicken noodle soup anymore. Tears once again began to fall down those pale cheeks.

Ren gasped at the news, getting up to hug the boy. "I'm so sorry Joey I shouldn't have been asking." Joey cried into the woman's shirt thankful he could finally let it out. Ren rubbed his back trying to comfort him as she looked to her husband being careful to avoid the wound. "Shun he's an orphan we have to do something."

Shun sighed and shook his head knowing what his wife was thinking. "I agree Ren but with the little one on the way we can't adopt him. We don't have the money for that, or to raise four children. I'm sorry Ren but we can't."

"We could manage Shun we just wouldn't have that much extra spending money. Please honey we have to help. We are the ones that found him." Ren was pleading, she needed to help him.

"Alright Ren but I'll need to take up more hours at the office, Mr. Kaiba should be happy about that." He sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Ren smiled happily hugging the boy tighter. "Oh would you like to come live with us Joey?"

Joey pulled away looking astounded at the couple. '_They just met me today and already they are offering their home to me_?' He smiled up at the woman "I-"but the boy couldn't finish his sentence. Ren suddenly grimaced in pain as she clutched her large belly. The sound of dripping caused the man to panic.

"Ren your water broke! We have to get to the hospital and get the bags and get a room for you and –"He was cut off by Ren's voice.

"Baka we are already at the hospital!" She cried out in pain as the contractions started. "Get a damn doctor Shun!" She sat back in the plastic chair as her husband ran out into the hallway Seto walked over his mother, looking scared.

The last thing Joey heard before the door shut was Shun trying to form a coherent sentence to tell the nurse what was wrong. He looked over to Ren in concern when she cried out again. "Ren are you ok? What's going on?"

"Don't worry Joey it's just that the baby's on its way." She cringed in pain as Shun and a few nurses rushed into the room with a wheel chair.

"Ren they set up a room for you down the hall, let's go!" the nurses help the woman into the chair as Shun went to pick up Mokuba. "Joey I'll be back later, so get some rest while Ren is in labor." Shun said taking Seto's hand and fallowed the nurses.

After the door had closed Joey sat staring wondering just what was going to happen once the baby was here. Knowing that the doctors will take care of his future family he shrugged, snuggling back down into the blankets trying to fallow Shun's advice.

**Domino Hospital 2:45 am Sunday**

Joey awoke to the sound of his door opening, the nurses had switched sifts once again. She came in, checked his vitals, and left once she was done. The sound of sniffing caused Joey to turn over to look at the door, he saw Shun holding his son Mokuba, while Seto walked quietly behind him. Both the father and the eldest son looked like they had been crying, while the youngest was fast asleep. "Shun? What's wrong? Why are you and Seto crying?"

"I'm sorry Joey but you can't come live with us, please forgive me but I must be going." With his free hand Shun wiped the tears from his face.

"Wait Mr. Shun please tell me what happened." Joey sat up, the wound on his back making him gasp in pain as it reopened.

"Joey!" Shun set Mokuba down in one of the chairs while he ran and got a nurse. Seto sat silently in the other chair tears still rolling down his young face. Joey looked at him wondering if he should say something. "Hello my name's –"He jumped slightly as the other boy spoke.

"This is all your fault." Seto said in almost a whisper. "If mommy hadn't found you she wouldn't have been so worried about you." Seto walked closer suddenly his voice becoming louder. "That means the baby wouldn't have come early and mommy would still be here! This is all your fault I hate you!" Tears were falling harder as he screamed at the boy.

Joey didn't understand why this Seto boy was yelling at him, or what he was talking about. "What do you mean she would still be here? She's right down the hall where the nurses took her."

Seto cried in frustration pounding his fists on the blonde's bed. Shun opened the door only to run and grab his son to stop him from hurting the already injured boy. The nurse that had been fallowing gave Seto a disapproving look before tending to the boy's wounds.

Still in shock at what just happened Joey looked up to the man. "Mr. Shun what happened? Why is Seto so upset? Did I do something wrong? Is that why you don't want me to live with you anymore?" Tears started to fill the brown eyes at the thought of the family not wanting him.

"Joey, it's not that I don't want you it's just… I can't care for three children by myself. Did Seto hurt you?" At Joey's head shake continued looking to his son who had cried himself to sleep. "Seto and I are crying because…Ren passed away while giving birth." He said quietly tears falling once again.

Joey just stared not able to understand what the man had said. '"_…and mommy would still be here!" Is that what he meant_?' "But how she was just here?"

"There was a problem, she was losing too much blood, Kisara didn't make it either. That was going to be Seto and Mokuba's younger sister. It's a pretty name isn't it?" He asked smiling sadly the tears falling faster now. "We have to go now Joey, I hope you get better soon." Shun picked up each of his sons and left the room, leaving the young boy alone once again.

Joey sobbed quietly. The loss of his real family, his would be family, the guilt of Ren and Kisara's death and the thought of being alone and unwanted laid heavily on his mind. He cried alone in the hospital room for what seemed like hours, before sleep finally took him.

**O0O0O0O0O0O**

**AN:** Well there you go chapter 2! It was kind of depressing to write but the story should pick up soon and not be so sad. Btw there will be a HUGE time lapse but, what happened in between will explained in the story


	3. 11 years later

Title: Draconic Prince

Author: Mkay3223

Rating: NC-17

Genre: AU and OOCness

Pairing(s): Seto and Jou (mentioned: Hikira and Yami, Honda and Otogi)

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer:I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do own any original character I use and the plot…which is not being used to make money. Yu-Gi-Oh created by Kazuki Takahashi

Summary: A young boy is driven from his home by a horrible crime. He escapes his terror by crossing over to the human realm by accident. But what will happen when his true self starts to appear in front of his friends and the man he loves?

~~~~~~time lapse  
_Dreaming_  
"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
/_**mind link hikira**_/  
\mind link yami\  
**Setting**

**O0O0O0O0O0O**

An: The time lapse will be addressed later on

**Domino High School 7:45am **_11 years later _

Yugi Moto sat under the willow tree just left to the front of the high school he and his friends attended. His tall spiky hair continued to get tangled in the low hanging branches causing the short boy to let out frustrated sighs. Yami chuckled pulling another branch that got to friendly with his Hikari's hair. Scooping up his light Yami moved to sit against the trunk, moving Yugi to sit in his lap.

"Is this better Aibou? Here the branches can't reach." Yami pulled Yugi closer burying his face into the crease of his lover's neck and shoulder.

"Yes thank you Yami, this is much better." Yugi smiled when Yami laid his head on his shoulder. A sudden scream broke the silence as Yami blew a raspberry on Yugi's neck." You ass Yami, you know I hate that!" Said boy was leaning heavily against the trunk of the willow tree laughing his ass off.

"Damn Yugi try screaming like a man next time, you almost shattered my ear drums."

"Shut it Honda, its Yami's fault!" Blushing, Yugi climbed from his dark's lap before shoving him away from the tree. "That's it Yami your sleeping on the couch for the next month!" Yami sobered suddenly giving his light a 'you're not serious are you?' look.

"Aibou I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. Please don't banish me to the couch! Not for a month!" Yami was kneeling in front of his Hikira pleading with him.

Otogi walked up to his boyfriend placing a hand on his shoulder. "Care to fill me in babe?" Honda turned, wrapping his arms around Otogi and giving him a quick kiss. "Hey hun, basically Yami raspberried Yugi's neck and now Yugi is pissed."

"Look at the pharaoh grovel at the midget's feet, and to think he was once the mighty ruler of Egypt." Bakura winced as Ryou elbowed him hard in the ribs. "'Kura be nice." The soft spoken Britt hissed quietly.

"Where are Marik and Malik?" Otogi asked sitting down in the soft grass.

"At the other end of the courtyard snogging." Bakura informed, taking a seat beside Otogi before pulling Ryou into his lap.

"Figures they would do that before school, since they have to go all day without groping each other." Honda sat between Bakura and Otogi, wrapping his arm around the latter's shoulders.

"Please Yugi please, I'll never do it again I'm so sorry!" Yugi gave a disbelieving look to his Dark before glancing at Bakura. "Well I suppose I can forgive you, since you embarrassed yourself enough." Yami blushed but resumed his place against the tree with Yugi in his lap. Yugi turned to the rest of his friends smiling happily.

"Have any of you seen Joey today?" They all shook their heads causing the short spiky haired boy to sigh. "He's going to be late again."

"Damn it I'm going to be late again. Damn alarm clock not going off on time." Joey ran through the streets and alleyways of Domino City on his way to high school. His blue school uniform was sticking to his toned body slightly from the sweat as he ran. His blond hair blew in front of his honey colored eyes.

Seeing the school just up ahead Joey slowed to a more human pace so he wouldn't seem too abnormal, he already had his blonde hair to thank for people thinking he was strange. They were always asking him if that was his natural color, and he would tell each of them the same thing, yes.

Joey saw the students filing in to the school in a neat, though not orderly, line. He smiled at the sight of tall spiky hair stripped with red yellow and black, his taller, other self was quick to trail after his light. Yugi and Yami disappeared through the front door followed by Bakura, Ryou, Otogi and Honda. All of them walking with their significant other, the sight made the blonde's stomach twist in pain and jealousy. He was happy that his friends were together but the thought that he could never be happy like they were, to be with someone he loved, made the sadness he felt turned overwhelming, though he would never show it. As the warning bell rang Joey ran into the school building almost toppling over some of the other late students.

**Lunch**

The gang was all seated around one of the lunch tables chatting away happily with one another. Yugi was sitting close to Yami having completely forgiven him for the mornings actions. Yami was smiling, grateful that Yugi no longer planed to make him sleep on the couch for the next month. He and Yugi were eating out of the same bento, feeding each other bits of Sushizume. Ryou was seated on Bakura's lap picking at the French fries he bought in the lunch line, Bakura stealing one every once in a while. Malik and Marik were chatting happily with Otogi about the upcoming reveal of ancient artifacts at the Domino museum that Isis was in charge of. The last two of the group were quietly talking to each other.

"What's up with you man, you seem down." Honda asked in a low voice, turning to his friend.

"What do you mean Hon' I feel fine." Joey smiled putting up the happy mask that he had perfected over the years.

"I don't know you just seem different today. Maybe it's the fact that you're not stuffing your face like you usually are at lunch." He laughed, throwing his arm around the blonde next to him to give him a quick noogie before letting him go.

Joey laughed along with him, "Yea maybe. I don't really feel like eating, my stomach is upset."

"Maybe you should go to the nurse."

"No it will be alright, it will go away on its own, it always does." Joey turned to sip on the bottle of water he bought bringing the conversation to an end.

As Honda joined in the chat with his lover Joey took the chance to scan the lunchroom. His soft honey eyes landed on the stoic CEO who was, of course, eating alone as usual. Joey smiled as he got up from the lunch table intent to annoy the brunet at least once today. Joey plopped down in the chair next to Kaiba, smiling when he saw the boy stiffen.

"Hiya Money-Bags, what's new and exciting?" Joey asked. He moved the chair closer to the table causing the chair legs to scrape loudly across the linoleum.

Suppressing a shudder the screeching caused, Kaiba continued his typing never taking his eyes away from his sliver laptop.

"Go away Puppy I don't have time for your barking right now."

"Aw don't be that way Neko, you know you like my barking." Joey smirked at the irritated scowl forming on Kaiba's face.

Seto turned toward the blonde glaring. "Don't. Don't ever call me Neko again if you want to keep living your annoying happy life." He turned back to his computer resuming his typing.

Joey frowned slightly, 'Yeah happy…my ass.' He perked up again before the CEO could see how he really felt. He opened his mouth to respond but the end of lunch bell cut him off.

"Well sorry to cut our chat short BUT some of us can't AFFORD to be late, or to pay the teacher's off if we are." He jumped up joining his friends down the hallway as they headed back to class. He turned and yelled over his shoulder "See ya later Neko!" before disappearing around the corner laughing as Kaiba flipped him off.

**0O0O0O0O0O**

AN: Woo chapter three! So there you go, like I said huge time lapse but what happened in between will be explained later. I would love reviews!


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